Darkness
by ObiWanGirl
Summary: Ryou's past comes back to haunt him...but exactly what ties does he have to Yami's past? {Chapter 5 up}
1. Chapter One

"Ryou!" Yugi called, chasing after the now sprinting boy. "Ryou! Wait!" Ryou, however, would not slow down, speeding up instead, never wanting to be caught, running right into the forest. 

  


_~Come with me in the twilight of a summer night for awhile_

_Tell me of a story never ever told in the past~_

  


'Why?!' Ryou thought angrily. 'Why is it when I'm happy, my past comes back to haunt me?!' It seemed that every time Ryou had finally grown accustomed to his new surroundings, _it _came back. Came back to remind him of his past. The past he had come to Domino to forget. 

_~Take me back to the land_

___Where my yearnings were born_

_The key to open the door is in your hand_

_Now fly me there_...~

  


Ryou.

{Go away!!} Ryou yelled back. 

You're always running, why fight it?

{Because! If I don't run...}

{You'll be running away from those who care for you}

_~Fanatics find their heaven in never ending storming wind_

___Auguries of destruction be a lullaby for rebirth._~

  


//Flashback//

"Hey Ryou!" Yugi greeted happily, sitting next to the quiet boy. "What's up?" Ryou forced a smile.

"Nothing much..."

"Aw, come on, there's gotta be so..." Yugi trailed off as a man stood in front of Ryou's desk. Both boys looked up at the man, and Ryou gulped. 

"Liame..." Ryou blinked. 

//End Flashback//

_~Consolations, be there_

___In my dreamland to come_

_The key to open the door is in your hand_

_Now take me there_~

  


Ryou had ventured deep into the forest on the outskirts of town before slowing to a stop. Sighing tiredly, he leaned against a tree, trying to catch his breath. 

"Likam." Liame walked from the shadows of the trees, appearing in front of Ryou. "You have to come back to u..."

"I don't want to come back!" Ryou yelled, a terrifying look in his eyes that were never seen in them before. "Go away."

"Lika..." Liame began, taking a step towards the white haired boy. "You must come back...your father..."

"I don't want to go back." Liame sighed.

  


"I did not wish to do this..." Liame stood back and closed his eyes. Muttering some words quietly, a circle inclosed Ryou. 

  


_~I believe in fantasies invisible to me_

___In the land of misery I'm searchin' for the sign_

_To the door of mystery and dignity_

_I'm wandering down, and searchin' down the secret sun_.~

  


Yugi crept deeper and deeper into the dark forest. He wanted to know why Ryou had run away. 

//Why did he run away?//

/That man./ Yami replied, /I sense something...dark, incredibly dark about that man that spoke with Ryou earlier.../ Yugi stopped suddenly, seeing a flash of light, and hid behind a tree, peering out to the scene before him.

_~Come with me in the twilight of a summer night for awhile_

_____Tell me of a story never ever told in the past_.~

  


Ryou knew what was happening, and closed his eyes sadly. Like all the other times, and the times to come, he would be changed. Slumping his shoulders and falling to his knees in defeat, he gave in to the swirling darkness that inclosed his soul. 

His eyes snapped open, no longer pure pools of chocolate emotion, but sickening darkness that could frighten even the most hardened person. The once soft snow white hair was black like the darkness at night that crept in the corners of childrens' bedrooms. He was the complete opposite of the pure boy everyone took him for. He was no longer Ryou...

_~Take me back to the land_

___Where my yearnings were born_

_The key to open the door is in your hand_

_Now take me there_

_to the land of twilight.~_

  


__"Now," Liame began, the circle disappearing. "Have you come back to your senses?" Ryou glared up at the vile man, hatred burning in his black eyes. 

"I _HATE _you!!" He screamed, spitting at Liame, who just smirked. 

"I know you do, but this is for your own good Likam. You'll thank me later." Liame picked up Ryou by the collar. "Now, we will return home...but first," He turned and faced a tree with a patch of red hair peeking out. "A pest problem."

  


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Author's note: Yes, I have a fetish with Ryou and odd storylines/songfics. I don't know if I'm going to continue this or not, it all depends on if I get another inspiration.

  


Disclaimer: ObiWanGirl doesn't own Yu-Gi-Oh!, nor does she own the song 'Key of Twilight' which is from .hack//SIGN and was composed by Yuki Kajiura


	2. Chapter Two

"Desino!"[1] Ryou called as Liame readied his magic to aim at who the boy knew to be Yugi. "Desino Liame! Puer non est virtus vester tempus![2]" The language came second nature to the boy, even though he had not actually used it for the longest time. 

"Cur?[3]" Liame asked, turning to Ryou. "Est puer amicus?[4]" He stopped the spell and smirked at Ryou. "Honestly, you've gone soft since I last saw you...then again, socializing with mortals would do that to anyone." Ryou glared at him, and Liame continued. "However, I will spare his life...if you return home with me." 

"...if you swear to Ra you will never harm even the smallest hair on his head."

~~

Yami forced Yugi back into his soul room and took over. He couldn't risk the young boy in any peril. He cracked his neck, and stepped out from behind the tree. "Tell me, what is going on tonight?" He asked, announcing his presence to the arguing people. Ryou looked...Yami couldn't tell what Ryou thought of his being there, but that man, that Liame, he seemed pleased that Yami had stepped into the open.

"Why hello there..." Liame's inner magic announced loudly that this boy...no, this man was not just a puny mortal...His eyes widened, and he sank to his knees. "My Pharaoh, it has been a long time since my eyes had the pleasure of seeing Your Grace." Yami smirked, not actually knowing who the man was, but pleased to know that he held power over him. 

Yami's eyes flicked over to Ryou, who looked both upset and happy, his eyes a darkened glare at the ground. 

//Yami...// Yugi began, his voice penetrating the soul room walls. //What's goin...//

/Aibou, please let me speak to Ryou alone for a while./ 

//But Yami!// Yugi protested. //He's my friend!//

/..but he..he has a darkened presence, just like that man over there. I do not want to risk you being harmed. I'm sorry./ He said, blocking Yugi from all contact with the outside world. 

"Ryou." Yami said, his voice as gentle as it could be. The black haired boy looked up. "What has happened to you?" Ryou remained silent, his gaze returning to the ground. Yami turned to Liame, his voice cold and stern. "What did you do to my friend?" He demanded. 

"My Pharaoh...he was hiding from our clan. His father sent me to seek him out, to give him his punishment for leaving...but surely you know the penalty for his running away, so I need not say it." Yami's face remained impassive, but he blinked, and Liame could see uncertainness in his eyes. "Ra...I forgot that you, My Pharaoh, has lost his memory to the sands of time. Forgive me for speaking of matters that you no longer remember." 

"...I'll consider forgiving you if you explain this...punishment..." Ryou looked up, his eyes wide as Liame began to speak. 

"The punishment is.."

"No!" Ryou shouted, drawing all eyes to him. 

"Tacite!" Liame snapped at Ryou before turning back to Yami. "I'm sorry My Pharaoh, the boy, he does not know his place." Yami glared at Liame. 

"If Ryou does not wish this punishment to me mentioned, I forbid you to speak of it, nor may you place it upon him." Liame blinked, looking wide eyed at the red eyed Pharaoh. 

"But...but My Pharaoh... my master specifically told me to... If I return and have not..." Yami looked at Ryou as Liame babbled on, the boy seemed to have a blank face, as if he were waging an inner battle...

"Or talking to Bakura..." He whispered aloud. Where had the tomb robber been during this whole event? Surely, as much as the spirit had denied it, he would have protected his hikari... Yami remembered the dark feeling he had gotten from Ryou and blinked. 

What if Ryou wasn't the hikari at all...? 

~~~~~~~~~~

[1] "Stop!"

[2] "Stop Liame! The boy is not worth your time!"

[3] "Why?"

[4] "Is the boy a friend?"

[5] "Be silent!"

^.^ I'm only in Latin I, so if any of this is wrong grammatically speaking, feel free to correct me! And I have NO IDEA where I came up with the idea for the last line in this chapter...it just came to me and seemed to fit. *shrug* Feel free to yell at me and say Ryou MUST be the hikari, but I'll just laugh at you and slap an AU on the fic! ^.^ I love loopholes!

~To FlamingBallOfDeath: ...can't you leave a relevant review just once...? –.– And I wasn't aware Robert was a slut...

~To cloud-1-3-5: ^.^ I still have no idea what the fuck this is! *laughs* As for the backward names, that was sheer coincidence. I don't have enough attention span to do reverse names like in Itsumo. ^.^ And Speech, Sight, and Sound is the next thing to be updated!

~To The Other Two That Reviewed: ^.^ Thanks for your reviews! :p

Review if yas want! ^.^


	3. Chapter Three: Ryou's Story

//blah// Hikari to Yami

/blah/Yami to Hikari

~~~

"So..." Bakura smirked as Ryou paced in his soul room. "You know Yami's discovered out little secret, right?" Ryou stopped to shoot a murderous glance at the white haired spirit. 

"He can't have Kura." Ryou said, sighing. "That would ruin our plans, you know it as well as I do. If he finds out..." Ryou paused.

"...That you're not the harmless Englishman you're thought to be..." Bakura filled in. Ryou rolled his eyes at Bakura, who smirked. 

"Then he wont be able to help us." Ryou finished, his black hair flowing behind him as he paced. 

"Right." Bakura stood up. "Well...what's the worse that could happen?" The white haired boy paused. "Never mind, I just remembered your father."

~~

"Ryou!" Yami snapped his fingers in front of the boys eyes, seeming to break Ryou out of his thoughts. "Ryou..." He smiled. "I'm glad you're alright...or are you?" He asked. "Just what exactly is going on here?" 

Ryou looked around for Liame. Where had his pursuer gone? He looked at Yami with questioning eyes. The former pharaoh smiled softly.

"I told Liame to return to his master, and kindly inform that you are in my care." Yami's eyes searched Ryou's eyes for an answer that would never leave his mouth, but to no avail. "Let's go home...or rather, let's go to your house and you can explain all of this to me." Ryou sighed, and nodded. 

~~

"Now Ryou..." Yami began, walking over to the dark blue couch in Ryou's living room. Ryou, still in his changed form, looked at the ground. "What's going on? Who was that Liame man? And why..?"

"My father." Ryou stated quietly, interrupting the crimson eyed boy. "My father sent Liame to fetch me... You see, uhm... I'm apart of a race that has an exceptionally long lifetime. My father..he was a member of your court when you were Pharaoh..." Yami blinked. 

"Wait...you're telling me your father was in Egypt when I was Pharaoh?" Ryou nodded, his eyes hadn't left the floor since he began. 

"...I was born about one year into your reign." Ryou paused, racking his eternal memory. "We fled Egypt when you were sealed into the Puzzle, I was eight." The dark haired boy looked up at Yami. "My father, my little sister Amane, and I...we went to Rome." He touched his Ring. "Kura was with me then too."

//Ryou...you okay?// Bakura asked, knowing full well Ryou never mentioned Amane, even to him. 

/Yeah...she's a major part of this, I had to mention her.../

"We spent many happy years in Rome...father became a member of the senate, so we had as much money as we needed. Amane grew into a beautiful young woman, and I was highly protective of her...much like Jou and Shizuka." He smiled softly, a distant look of remembrance on his face. 

"It was her wedding day." His face darkened, looking much like Bakura's that Yami would have sworn that the tomb robber had taken over had Ryou not continued to speak in his soft-spoken voice. "Her husband-to-be, Marcus, he...well, wasn't the most liked person in Rome. I never really liked him...neither did Amane..." Ryou paused for little bit, remembering...

//Ryou!// Bakura shouted, causing Ryou to snap out of his thoughts. 

/What?!/

//It wouldn't be good for you to get angry in the presence of one that can banish you forever to the shadow realm...//

/...Right. Thank you Kura./ 

"..." Yami remained silent, watching Ryou as he told the story.

"...my sister...she died that night..." Ryou whispered. "She tripped into a stone corner on the way to the chapel..." His eyes filled with tears. "I was there...I could have saved her..." He wiped his eyes before any tears could fall. "At that moment... I...I went mad." He whispered the last part so low that Yami had to strain his ears to hear. 

"That's understan..." Yami began, but Ryou cut him off.

"I went mad with anger...Blind with rage..." He trailed off, shaking his head "My line...we were never really good at controlling our tempers...I'll never forgive myself for what I did when she died..."

"Ryou..." Yami began, as the dark haired boy trailed off. "I'm sorry about your sister...but...what exactly did you do?" Ryou looked at the ground again.

"I..." He sighed. "I killed Marcus." 

"...you killed...?" Yami asked, hardly believing for a moment that innocent Ryou Bakura would kill even a small insect, let alone a man! Ryou nodded, touching his Ring again. 

//Ryo...//

/I'm fine Bakura, I just don't like remembering that day./

"What happened next Ryou?" Yami asked quietly, putting a hand on Ryou's shoulder, squeezing it gently. Ryou looked up at the one time Pharaoh. 

"I was exiled...I didn't even get to attend Amane's funeral..." He whispered, his voice hoarse just remembering that fact. "Father snuck me into the city a few days later...so I could pay my last respects..."

"Ryou..." Ryou shook his head, signaling that he had more to say.

"Afterward, I went back to Egypt...I watched the decline of the kingdom at the hands of the Roman pharaohs..." He sighed. "My whole life after then is one huge blur...I vaguely remember moving to England during the renaissance..." He smiled softly. "I've lived everywhere one can imagine. I sparred with samurai...traded shots with the colonists during the American Revolution..."

Yami looked at Ryou, seeing strands of the boys white hair show in over the black. Ryou ran a hand through his hair. "It's returning to how it was, ne?" He smiled. "It always does that once I've been in my natural form for a while..."

"...may I ask you a question Ryou?" Yami asked. Ryou nodded slowly. "...are you the hikari between you and Bakura?" Ryou blinked.

"Uhm...well, it actually depends." Yami blinked slowly. 

"What do you mean it depends?"

"...well, when I'm in my native form, Bakura is my hikari, but when I'm as you usually see me, I'm the hikari." He smiled. "It gets rather confusing when I'm in a middle place as I am right now." Yami smiled, glad there was no reason to be wary of the boy. Yugi instantly took control.

"Ryou!" Yugi smiled as he hugged the boy. "I was worried about you, Yami wouldn't let me listen to what was going on!" Ryou smiled as he rested his head on the boy's shoulder. "What did happen Ryou?" The amethyst colored boy asked, tipping his head to one side after letting go of Ryou.

"Nothing really...I just told Yami a small story..." Ryou's hair was snow white again, his chocolate colored eyes sparkled again. 

~~~~

^.^ I have *no* idea where I came up with this story, but it's not over yet! Woo! *giggles* So now all sides are happy! Bazu gets his kawaii!Hikari Ryou and I get my sexy!Yami Ryou (at least, he's sexy in my mind...can't you all just picture Ryou with black hair? *drools*)

I'll probably do a chapter or two dedicated to Ryou's life before he came to Domino, as well as why his father wants him back so badly! *smiles evilly at the reason*

Responses to Reviewers:

~Satire Central: 0.o What do you mean one cannot speak Latin? My teacher knows it fluently and it's the basis for at *least* six languages....*stares oddly* 

~cloud-1-3-5: ^.^ Can I throw the kettle of fish at your head? Hope this chapter feels longer to you, it reached three pages! (Long for me!) I decided Ryou *couldn't* be a complete yami, so I decided to use the backup plan! *points to Ryou's explanation*

~To Everyone Else: Thanks *glomps* Thanks for reviewing, I got double what the first chapter got! 

Review please and tell me I'm insane for writing this! Woo! XD


	4. Chapter Four

"I want him!" The gray haired man yelled, throwing a vase at Liame. The black haired man didn't move, nor wince, when the glass smashed into his face. He didn't want to make his lord any angrier than he already was. "Likam needs to be with his family, not some mortal midgets and twerps!"

"Bu...but my lord Simai, that midget is the Pharaoh's vessel..." Liame said shakily, a trail of blood sliding down his cheek from his wound. Simai stopped and looked at Liame.

"Is this true?" Liame nodded. "Damnit!" Simai swore. "If Likam convinces the Pharaoh to do what he aims to do...our clan is doomed."

"And what of the boy that has taken refuge in Likam?"

"The boy..? Oh, the spirit of the Millennium Ring... He will be dealt with when the time is right. We need his power on our side, not Likam's."

* * *

Ryou sighed as he got up the next morning. Last night had been...interesting to say the least. Yami had learned his secret...or at least half of it. The other part...that was to remain between Bakura and himself. 

Bakura materialized next to Ryou, crossing his arms and leaned against the doorframe. "You know this is a setback, right?" The white haired yami asked, yawning. Ryou tossed a pillow at him.

"Of course I know, why do you think I didn't sleep well last night?" Ryou was usually a sound sleeper, not even waking when his yami was yelling at him. Last night, however, after Yugi and Yami left...he just couldn't get in a good mind set. Hence the broken lamp in the livingroom and the broken mirror in the upstairs bathroom.

"You really should get a grip on those powers of yours." Bakura smirked. "Temper temper, hikari." He waggled a finger back and forth at Ryou. "Shame shame."

"Don't make me set fire to the Ring again." Ryou warned in return, not sparing Bakura a glance as he headed to the bathroom.

"Oh, resorting to threats now, are we?" Bakura followed Ryou. "So much for..." He balled his hands together like a damsel in distress and, in a high pitched voice, said, "'Oh me, oh my, I'm Ryou and I can't do _anything_by myself. My yami is mean to me and I'm always quiet and polite!'" He laughed as Ryou threw a glass shard from the former mirror at him.

"Oh shut up, you know you're not much better." Ryou said, digging for his hairbrush which was underneath the rest of the random items in the drawer. "'I'm Bakura, I'm tough and I hate everyone. My hikari is _so_weak, I don't know how I stand him. I wish I had a piece of raw meat so I can go making a fool out of mysel.. Fuck!" Ryou swore as he accidentally ran his hand across a part of the mirror that had apparently chosen to take up residence in his drawer. A thin line of blood trailed down his wrist.

"Poor little Ryou's bleeding!" Bakura laughed as Ryou glared at him, licking his wrist clean as the cut healed. That was the trick in Ryou and his family's long life - cuts healed within seconds, and they were rarely inflicted with disease, due to an incredibly strong immune system. "You better clean up those shards - sure, your cuts heal, but if you keep cutting yourself you'll lose blood." Bakura warned before going back into the Ring. Ryou rolled his eyes, finding his hairbrush and continuing on with his daily routine before heading off to school.

* * *

Yugi huffed as he trudged toward school - Yami still wouldn't tell him what happened last night. Wait for Ryou to tell you, it's not my place to tell you.' The spirit would say. But the violet-eyed boy didn't want to wait. He wanted to know _now_. And, by the looks of it, now wasn't that far off. Ryou was walking around the corner just as Yugi reached it. 

"Ryou!" Yugi greeted, a smile on his face. Ryou smiled back.

"Good morning Yugi." The two walked on toward school, Ryou didn't say anything and Yugi didn't want to bring up last night - as much as it bothered him not to know, it was rude to ask.

"Listen, Yugi," Ryou said quietly, stopping. Yugi turned to him. "About last night... It's better that you don't know everything I told Yami." He paused. "Unless he's told you already?"

Yugi shook his head. "No, Yami refuses to tell me." He pouted. "I understand if you don't want me to know, but just remember I'm there for you if you need me, okay?" Ryou smiled.

"You're getting more like Anzu each day."

"I am not!" The small boy protested. Just because he was a friend doesn't mean he's crazy in love with friendship - well, he was, but not as much as Anzu.

The two resumed on to school, and agreed to meet up at Ryou's home after school to work on their homework and possibly duel (with the exclusion of Yami and Bakura - they'd get too overly-involved with it).

* * *

"And then Jou said 'But Set...Kaiba is a real jerk, Yuug', I mean, come on, he's such a prick!'" Yugi laughed. "It's obvious they like each other - I'm surprised they aren't already going out." Ryou giggled. 

"I've seen them making out in the computer lab - you know, the one that no-one ever goes into."

"Really?" Yugi grinned.

"Yeah, and when they were leaving, I saw Seto hide a hickey with is trench coat collar..." Ryou stopped suddenly, gazing at his front porch. Liame was back. Ryou hissed under his breath. "Yugi," He said quietly. "You should go."

Yugi blinked, then shook his head. "No, I'm staying Ryou." Ryou grabbed the boy's shoulders.

"You have to go. Now." He turned the boy around and gently pushed him in the direction of the Game Shop.

"No." Yugi's voice was deeper this time - Yami had taken over. The ex-Pharaoh turned around and faced Ryou. "I will stay, Ryou. This man is not to be taken lightly, and I'd rather not let you deal with him alone." Ryou sighed, he knew there was no winning with Yami, so he just didn't bother trying to protest.

"I know he's a threat, that's why I was trying to get Yugi to leave." Ryou replied quietly as the two proceeded toward the house.

"He's still protesting, you know. He's demanding I let him out." Yami looked at Ryou out of the corner of his eye. "I'm not going to block him out this time, he has a right to know what is going on with you Ryou."

"I know he does," Ryou replied. "I just don't want him involved - or you either, actually."

"So you were going to let yourself be taken away without a word?" Yami asked as they reached Ryou's front lawn.

"No, I was going to get you involved later - last night really wasn't the best time for you to find out." They stopped as Liame approached the two. The dark haired man sank to one knee before Yami.

"My Pharaoh, I am glad you are well." He glanced at Ryou. "Likam, you should bow before your lord as well." Ryou rolled his eyes.

"Ryou doesn't have to bow before me - he is a trusted friend." Yami replied cooly. "And I'm fairly certain that you shall not be regarded as one, so you shall not say what he can or cannot do." Liame rose.

"My Pharaoh, I ask you, please let me take Likam back to his father - he..."

"_Ryou _will not be taken anywhere. He is to stay where he wishes, and be taken no where else."

"But, my Lord..." Liame protested, which Yami assumed meant that he was desperate - no one protested against their lord, master, pharaoh, or the like without good reason.

"Enough." Ryou said quietly, the two men looked at him. "Let's go inside and discuss this." He looked coldly at Liame. "As much as I'll hate having to clean the carpet to get rid of your smell, I'd rather not have the neighbors think that there's some kind of trouble."

* * *

Liame stood in the center of the room, Ryou sat on the couch next to Yami, who had a 'regal' look about him. Ryou wasn't entirely sure why Yami's roots as a ruler decided to kick in whenever Liame was around, but he wasn't about to ask, since Yami's demeanor was saving him from a trip to his beast of a father. 

"Now," Yami began. "Why do you seem so keen on getting Ryou away from Domino City?" Liame looked from the spirit to Ryou and back again.

"Surely Likam has told you of his powers?" Yami raised an eyebrow. Ryou felt his stomach sink. He was dead in the water now. All that planning, all that work trying to get to where he was today...

+Stop panicking, loser.+ Bakura called over their link. +Switch with me, I'll deal with that brat of a servant of your father's. Just give me thirty seconds.+

/No, sush. Yami would know and then we'd be even deader than we already are./

"Ryou has told me of his long life, but not of anything else I believe." A small smirk arose on Liame's face.

"So, this boy hasn't told you of his powers." He looked at Ryou. "I thought you would know better than to keep the Pharaoh himself in the dark, young child."

"...I thought it best I only tell him what affects him or Yugi." Ryou lied quietly, giving Yami a side glance. Perhaps Yami would catch his hint and drop the topic.

/What do you think Ryou means? Did he tell you anything/ Yugi asked over the mind link he shared with Yami.

+No, he hasn't told me anything aibou, but I'm assuming we'll find out one way or another. I believe Ryou has something planned that involves this lie of his about telling me about his powers carrying on for a few more minutes.+

"Regardless of what powers Ryou may or may not possess, I still believe that they are of no concern of yours." Yami replied, folding his hands together. "And unless you give me good reason not to trust Ryou - which I doubt you ever could find a way to do that - I shall not listen to another absurd word that escapes your lips."

+See, we're not dead yet. Baka pharaoh isn't dense.+

/Must be why he always beats you./ Ryou replied.

+...shut up.+

"...alright, my lord, I will not say any more things to you about this child or his powers." Liame looked at Ryou with a deadly glint in his eyes. "I shall however inform young Likam here that his father has decided to pay him a visit, since the boy refuses to go to him." Ryou twitched.

/Oh, we're not dead yet. Right./

+...I'm a disembodied spirit, you expect me to be right whenever I say something+

/...I wish you would be, it would make my life so much easier./

+Well, it's not going to happen, you're stuck with me and my usually non-accurate comments.+

/Jerk./

+Can we have meatloaf for dinner+

/...you know, I may reconsider feeding the Ring to the dog next door.../

"When will he arrive?" Yami asked, breaking Ryou from his thoughts about if the dog would like the Ring topped with ketchup or dog food.

"Now." A voice said cooly from behind them. Ryou groaned inwardly, before rising to his feet.

"Hello father."

* * *

Yeah, sorry about not updating...for close to a year...and...yeah... I'll try to be better about that! Uhm, I don't expect any fans of this to still be around, so I'm not expecting reviews or anything - but if any of you do happen to come across this - reviews would be nice! .


	5. Chapter Five

/blah/ Hikari mental link chat

+blah+ Yami mental link chat

I forgot to put that on the top of the last chapter, and since won't recognize my two slashes for the yami chat, I had to make do fairly quickly! .;

* * *

"Hello father." Ryou said quietly; this was a major setback. His father had a plan in motion far greater than his. If he got Yami to join his side against Ryou...

+That won't happen Ryou.+ Bakura called over their mind-link. +The Pharaoh, as stupid as he is, wouldn't join against you. Me, maybe, but not you.+ Ryou nodded slightly.

/You're right 'Kura, as rarely as that happens, you're right./

+Shut up. You know that all of your plans wouldn't work without my great mind.+

Rolling his eyes, Ryou closed the connection. He needed to focus on the matter at hand, not Bakura and his stupid comments. The white haired boy looked at his father again; the grey haired man had a smirk on his face.

"Still chatting with that spirit of yours" He chuckled. "Honestly, when will you come to your senses"

"When you come to yours." Ryou retorted. He glanced at Yami, the ex-Pharaoh was still seated on the couch - he looked like he would jump up and send everyone in the room to the shadow realm at any given moment; and at Liame - oh, how Ryou wanted to wipe that annoying smirk off the man's face.

"I have mind together, Likam." Simai began, taking a few steps toward Ryou, who backed away in return. Simai smirked. "What, do I scare you" He advanced again. "I scare powerful little Likam, don't I"

Yami raised an eyebrow at this statement. 'Powerful...? What does that man mean by powerful...?' He sensed no power emit from Ryou - well, at least, not enough power to merit the term powerful.

/Maybe he's shielding/ Yugi suggested quietly over their bond. /He's apparently shielded from you before./

+Perhaps aibou, but why would he feel the need to+

Yugi paused. /You said he had dark energy around him when he's in his natural form, maybe he thought you would go 'evil be gone!' on him like you do his yami./ Yami nodded, that was probably it - he had scared Ryou, so the boy didn't want to risk revealing himself and possibly get sent to the shadow realm.

"What do you want" Ryou's voice broke Yami from his musings. The red eyed spirit looked at Ryou; the white haired boy was returning to his original form, black hairs were quickly taking the place of the white. Yami wondered if this was an intentional change, or if Liame or Ryou's father was behind it.

"What do you think I want" Simai replied. "I just want to stop you from doing something foolish." Ryou, fully in his dark form, narrowed his eyes.

"Foolish" Ryou closed his eyes and smiled softly, taking a step forward. "What is foolish about trying to prevent the theft of..."

"Silence" Simai ordered, moving so quickly that he was just a blur to Yami. A large splash of red darkened Ryou's pale cheek; the boy hissed. Yami jumped from his seat, but Liame put his arm out, stopping the Pharaoh from taking action.

"Wait." Liame said quietly. "This is their issue, it is better for you to observe as well my lord." Yami looked up at Liame. "You need to see why you cannot trust Likam." Yami looked back at Ryou and his father, feeling anxious. How could he ever not trust Ryou?

"You..." Ryou hissed, rubbing his cheek slightly. "You will regret that." His eyes flashed with anger, his fists were clenched so tightly that his knuckles were white.

+Ryou+ Bakura reminded loudly. +Keep your temper+ He didn't want to have to deal with another incident like what happened the last time Ryou lost his temper.

/I'm...trying.../ The dark haired boy struggled to say. The sweet boy from inside him was crying for him to calm down; the darker side of him was lusting for revenge. A slap on the face was a degrading, not-to-be-taken-lightly action, it was only given to prisoners of war, or back in the past, slaves of the clan. It was a sign that a master gave his servant when the servant disobeyed. Ryou was not his servant and the darker side of him wanted to make Simai know that. /...no.../ The lighter side of Ryou gasped; he was losing control again.

"What" Simai chuckled sinisterly. "Little Likam afraid to strike back, to take revenge upon the strike given you by your father" Ryou sank to his knees, his inner self struggling to regain control of his powers, an utterly painful thing, since if one's powers were not released when summoned up, they attacked their wielder's soul.

* * *

+Ryou+ Bakura appeared in Ryou's soul room, shocked at its state. Everything was in disarray, so very unlike its normal spotlessness. Ryou was doubled over in the center of the mess, his hair was half light, half dark. Bakura winced, realizing what was happening. Having his soul harmed like that was the most painful thing one could ever feel. "Ryou" Bakura said again, kneeling next to the injured boy, who didn't respond. "Ryou, you have to snap out of it." If Ryou didn't snap out of this, something much more terrible could happen... 

Ryou looked up at Bakura, a pained expression on his face; one brown eye was full of sorrow, the black was full of hate. Unable to find his voice, he managed to mouth the word 'help'. Bakura moved in front of Ryou, putting his hands on the boy's shoulders, looking him directly in the eyes. "You have to snap out of it. You know what will happen if you don't." Bakura instructed strongly. Ryou's eyes told Bakura he knew full well what was going to happen if he couldn't. "Stop fighting yourself. You cannot change the temperament of your darker feelings." Ryou's brown eye grew darker, Bakura hoped that Ryou would be able to get to one of his forms - Likam or Ryou, Bakura could care less which - but his hopes were dashed when the darkness stopped and it remained a deep chocolate. "Embrace your anger" Bakura pressed much more strongly. "Deal with it, let it go." Bakura moved one of his hands onto Ryou's and squeezed it tightly. "Breath." He said quietly, leaning forward and placing his forehead against Ryou's, closing his eyes.

* * *

Bakura stood, fully in control of Ryou's body, and glared at Ryou's father. "How dare you" He began with a low, angry voice, his white, spiky hair emerging from Ryou's dark hair. "How dare you treat your son like that" 

Simai smirked, walking over to Bakura. "How dare I" He traced a finger along Bakura's cheek, still red from the slap Ryou had received not two minutes earlier; Bakura jerked away from the man's touch. "I'm not the one keeping you prisoner. I'm not the one preventing you from going on to the afterlife."

"He's not preventing me from doing anything." The spirit of the Ring replied. "Perhaps I just enjoy your son's company." Bakura looked over at Yami and Liame. "Now, Pharaoh, we've got some matters to attend to." He slowly walked over to Yami, moving Liame out of the way. Yami's eyes narrowed.

"Why should I care about anything you have to say, tomb robber" Yami crossed his arms, giving Bakura a suspicious look. The brown eyed boy move closer to the Pharaoh and whispered.

"If you want to help my Ryou, you'll cooperate." Yami nodded slightly, he did indeed with to help Ryou, and also, wanted to find out what was going on. "If you'll excuse us Simai, I wish to have a small chat with Yami no Yugi here." Without waiting for a response, Bakura led Yami out of the livingroom, up the stairs, and into Ryou's bedroom.

* * *

Simai smirked as the two left the room, and sat down on the couch. "We've got him now Liame." He said with a victorious tone. "Likam is now Torn and the spirit has no idea what to do about it." He knew how his son would react to the challenge of power - ever since the night Amane died, Simai knewLikam would react to the power building up inside of him - he would resist with all of his might. Likam was afraid of the power that lurked deep inside of him, and Simai would continue to use it to his advantage. 

"But sir" Liame began, shifting his stance a bit. "Was it really necessary to do that much damage to your own flesh and blood" He paused. "Not that I'm disagreeing with your judgement, sir, but..."

"Yes, it was." Simai said, folding his hands across his lap. "I told you, Likam is expendable." A sickening smile - the smile that one only gets when power overcomes him - came across his face. "He'll be dead soon enough."

* * *

AN: I'm sorry this sucks, and I'm sorrythe past twochapters haven't gone anywhereor done anything exciting - but it'll get better as the storyline develops more. I've already got an idea of what the ending is going to be, so that's good, and I'll get this done as soon as possible. I'm going to focus my attention on this fic in particular, and I'll finish it before I move on to anything else (Speech, Sight, and Sound is next on my update list after I finish this though, so you all can hopefullylook forward to that!) 


End file.
